Since taking charge of the Indian men’s cricket team as head coach in July 2024, Gautam Gambhir has lost five out of nine Tests played so far at home. During his time as head coach, India have suffered two whitewashes at home, and he also holds the unwanted record of losing the most home Tests as India head coach. Since India lost the two-match Test series against South Africa with a scoreline of 0-2, Gambhir is facing a lot of criticism from fans, former greats and experts of the game, and some even have called for his removal as head coach, at least in the five-day format of the game.
Following the conclusion of Test series against South Africa, India will face the Temba Bavuma-led side in a three-match ODI series. Gambhir joined Indian players
in a training session on Friday in Ranchi, and during India’s practice, Indian fans targeted Gambhir. In a video going viral on the internet, a fan can be heard asking Gambhir to leave coaching.
“3-0 ghar mein, Africa ke sath 1-0. Coaching chod do (3-0 at home, 1-0 against South Africa, leave coaching). South Africa ke saath ghar mein nahi jeet sakte, 2027 ka World Cup bhool jao (Can’t win against South Africa at home, forget the 2027 World Cup),” a fan said in a viral video.
Here’s a look:
Crowd is cooking Gambhir.💀 pic.twitter.com/llcpCZLoAQ
— Gems of Cricket (@GemsOfCrickets) November 28, 2025
India lost the series opener against South Africa by 30 runs in three days at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and suffered a humiliating defeat by 408 runs in the second Test played at Barsapara Cricket Stadium from November 22 to 26. The defeat in the first-ever Test in Guwahati was India’s biggest loss in terms of run margin.
KL Rahul to lead in ODIs
The first ODI of the three-match series between India and South Africa will be played in Ranchi on Sunday, November 30, and Raipur and Visakhapatnam will host the next two fixtures on December 3 and December 6, respectively. In the absence of Shubman Gill, who is out of action due to a neck injury, and his ODI deputy Shreyas Iyer, who suffered an injury while fielding during the 3rd ODI against Australia in Sydney last month, KL Rahul has been appointed as India’s captain for the three 50-over matches.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma and Rishabh Pant are back in the ODI squad in place of Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Siraj. In the absence of Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal is almost certain to open the innings, and it will be interesting to see who between Tilak and Pant gets a chance to bat at No. 4.
